Record predictions, analysis for all 32 teams

The regular season kicks off with the Chicago Bears hosting the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers on Thursday, Sept. 5 (8:20 p.m. ET, NBC). The opening doubleheader for Monday Night Football will feature the Houston Texans at the New Orleans Saints (7:10 p.m. ET, ESPN) and the Denver Broncos at Oakland Raiders (10:20 p.m. ET) on Monday, Sept. 9. Check out the full week-by-week schedule here.

NFL Nation reporters break down the 2019 regular-season schedules for all 32 teams, with predicted records from each of our reporters. Each record prediction was made independent of the predictions of their colleagues. Let’s start in the NFC East:

Jump directly to a team:

NFC EAST

The Cowboys face a daunting schedule, playing six games against playoff teams from a year ago, including the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, NFC champ Los Angeles Rams and NFC runner-up New Orleans Saints. Read the analysis from Todd Archer.

The low expectations for this season also limited the Giants to three prime-time matchups — two Monday nights and a Thursday nighter against the New England Patriots. Read the analysis from Jordan Raanan.

The Redskins play three division games in the first four weeks, which will provide a great clue for how their season will play out. They also close with three consecutive division games. Read the analysis from John Keim.

It’s going to be another tough start for the Lions, with two of the league’s most explosive 2018 offenses coming to Ford Field in the first month of the season, bracketing a game at Philadelphia. Read the analysis from Michael Rothstein.

Despite two consecutive non-playoff seasons, the league still considers the Packers a draw with five prime-time games, including two Thursday night games (at Bears, vs. Eagles), two MNF appearances (vs. Lions, at Vikings) and a Sunday night game (at Chiefs). Read the analysis from Rob Demovsky.

The Vikings play three NFC North games on the road in the first seven weeks. Then things get really difficult. With a handful of stretches that could decide the season for Minnesota, including back-to-back road games at Kansas City and Dallas in Weeks 9 and 10. Read the analysis from Courtney Cronin.

NFC SOUTH

The Falcons don’t exactly have it easy to start with six of the first nine games against 2018 playoff teams and four of the first six games on the road, starting with a season-opening trip to Minnesota to face the Vikings. Read the analysis from Vaughn McClure.

The schedule-makers liked the drama of Carolina facing New Orleans twice in the final three weeks last season so much that they almost pulled a repeat. The NFC South rivals play each other twice in the final five weeks, including the finale in Charlotte.Read the analysis from David Newton.

The Saints don’t have to wait long for the most grueling part of their schedule. After kicking off at home on a Monday night against the Texans, they’ll have to travel across the country for their much-anticipated rematch against the Rams. Read the analysis from Mike Triplett.

The Bucs’ most challenging stretch includes three straight road games, with trips to Los Angeles and London, and facing the top two teams in the NFC in 2018 in back-to-back weeks. During that three-week span, the Bucs will travel 28,144 miles.Read the analysis from Jenna Laine.

If the Niners manage to survive the road-heavy first part of the season, they will find themselves in what looks like a much more manageable stretch in the middle with three consecutive home games against the Seahawks, Cardinals and Packers.Read the analysis from Nick Wagoner.

October looks like a potential get-right month, as they face no 2018 playoff teams, but both the Bills and Steelers will be coming off of bye weeks before playing the Dolphins. Read the analysis from Cameron Wolfe.

This marks the fourth straight year in which the bye week is in a great spot for the Patriots. Getting a break after the ninth game almost splits the season into two even halves, which gives players and coaches a nice midseason break. Read the analysis from Mike Reiss.

After signing marquee names such as running back Le’Veon Bell in free agency, the Jets once again have mass appeal. They have three prime-time games, two more than last season. Read the analysis from Rich Cimini.

AFC NORTH

The Ravens become the fourth team since the NFL switched to a 16-game schedule in 1978 to receive a perfectly balanced schedule, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. Read the analysis from Jamison Hensley.

There’s no doubt this is a tough schedule. The Bengals have to play the two Super Bowl teams — the Patriots and Rams — in addition to a 49ers team with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and an improved Browns team. Read the analysis from Katherine Terrell.

The NFL gave the Steelers quite the midseason break with a Week 7 bye, followed by three straight home games against the Dolphins, Colts and Rams. The Steelers will go 32 days between road games with that setup. Read the analysis from Jeremy Fowler.

AFC SOUTH

Starting in Week 3, the Texans will play four of five games — including a trip to London — on the road. That stretch will include trips to Kansas City, Indianapolis, London and Baltimore and one home game (Week 8) against the Raiders. Read the analysis from Sarah Barshop.

We’ll see pretty quickly how much difference QB Nick Foles will make because the beginning of the season will be pretty tough, with three of the first five games on the road. Read the analysis from Mike DiRocco.

AFC WEST

The Broncos are going to have to do some heavy lifting in coach Vic Fangio’s first season. They have seven games against 2018 playoff teams along with games against the revamped Browns and Raiders. Read the analysis from Jeff Legwold.

The Chiefs need to get off to a strong start. Just one of their first four games is against a 2018 playoff team and that one opponent is Baltimore, which is in transition. Read the analysis from Adam Teicher.

After reaching the postseason for the first time since 2013 last season, the Chargers were rewarded by the league with four prime-time contests, the most the Bolts have had since 2014. Read the analysis from Eric D. Williams.